Australia on Monday dismissed Turkey’s offer to co-host next year’s UN climate summit, with the two nations’ rival COP31 bids draw attention away from the current talks in Brazil, according to AFP.
Both Canberra and Ankara are under mounting pressure to put an end to the current stalemate. Meanwhile, Brazil strives to prove that global climate diplomacy remains effective.
Two Options
The host must be chosen by consensus. Therefore, the two nations have only two options, either to step back from the race or agree to jointly host the summit. Otherwise, both will lose their chance to stage COP31. This scenario would be unprecedented in the history of the conference and would automatically transfer COP31 hosting rights to Germany.
On Monday, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese utterly rejected the suggestion of co-hosting with Ankara.
“That’s not an option, and people are aware that it is not an option, which is why it has been ruled out,” Albanese said.
Meanwhile, a Turkish diplomatic source told AFP over the weekend that Ankara still calls for “a co-presidency model.” However, it could host the summit alone if they did not reach consensus.
Summit Deadlock
Australia seeks to host the summit in the southern city of Adelaide alongside its Pacific Island neighbors. This would enable it to showcase a part of the world that is suffering the effects of climate change.
Turkey bids to host COP31 to address the world’s most vulnerable regions, with potential special sessions focusing on Pacific issues.
To resolve this dispute, Brazil has appointed a representative. However, the diplomatic talks did not achieve any progress toward reaching an agreement before COP30 wraps up on November 21.
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